FDBusiness.com

The world market for aseptically packed products amounted to 152 billion litres in 347 billion packs during 2017, according to the new Global Aseptic Packaging report from leading food and drinks consultancy Zenith Global and packaging experts Warrick Research. Volumes have risen by 2.7% a year since 2012, with South East Asia achieving the fastest annual growth rate of 7%, followed by China on 6%.

Beverages such as fruit juice accounted for 39% of aseptically packed products, with white drinking milk responsible for 38% and other dairy/food products making up the remainder. Aseptic filling has also become established for soups, sauces, tomato products and baby foods.

“While European companies still dominate the global aseptic filling equipment industry, the Chinese market is increasingly supplied by Chinese equipment manufacturers, some of whom have also successfully entered other Asian markets,” comments David Warrick, Director at Warrick Research.

“Volumes have been static in much of Europe, contrasting with rapid growth in many Asian countries,” adds Arunkumar Anbalagan, Senior Insights Analyst at Zenith Global.

Other findings of the 2018 Global Aseptic Packaging report include:

• There are over 16,000 operational aseptic filling systems worldwide, serviced by more than 30 suppliers.
• The largest markets for aseptic packaging are China and South East Asia. China is set to become the leading country by 2022, followed by South East Asia and West Europe.
• Value added dairy products are a fast growing area of demand for aseptic filling systems. In some regions, fillers are used for both ambient and chilled dairy products.
• Environmental issues have become more important in many regions. Developments include the introduction of electron beam sterilisation as an alternative to chemical sterilisation. Demand is increasing for re-use or recycling.

By 2022, Zenith and Warrick estimate that the world market will reach 176 billion litres and 410 billion packs. The majority of additional demand will come from South East Asia as well as China.

The 2018 Zenith & Warrick Report on Global Aseptic Packaging contains 713 pages, including a detailed study of aseptic packaging use in 38 countries for dairy, beverages and food products, with actual data from 2012, 2016 and 2017 plus 2022 forecasts. Analysis of aseptic processing and packaging includes technical developments and profiles of over 35 aseptic filling equipment suppliers. Contact Zenith Global on +44 (0)1225 327900 or e-mail insight@zenithglobal.com.